NHL Picks: New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres
The New Jersey Devils struggle enough offensively as it is. With Adam Henrique and Travis Zajac out of the lineup, the New Jersey Devils were rather predictably shut out in their last contest. Still, Adam Henrique is skating and looks to return to the lineup tonight, and Cory Schneider is one of the best goalies in hockey. Even a modicum of offensive spark should be enough for New Jersey here.
The Buffalo Sabres aren’t as terrible as they were last year, but they haven’t been a viable threat in the East since they let go of Ryan Miller and the roster collapsed upon itself. While they have a few nice draft picks, they still lack depth and scoring. As such, this could be a battle if New Jersey does that thing the Devils do where they skate possession circles around teams but don’t put pucks in the back of the net.
That said, I don’t think this will happen here. I am on the New Jersey Devils for my biggest preseason hockey bet this season to outperform Vegas pundits – and I think they’ll do it by a considerable margin and flirt with .500 this year. I love this young defensive group and as I said above, I trust Cory Schneider. The offense is the only problem in a 3-2 hockey league.
Against a Buffalo Sabres team that lacks defensive consistency or legitimate goaltending, I think even the mediocre New Jersey Devils forwards can get something going tonight. If Adam Henrique is back, look for the New Jersey Devils to control the game. If they can get a couple goals here, I think they win this one on the road against a bad team.
The computer calls this one a 50/50 toss up, and I agree. That said, I think the better team will prevail here in a low confidence wager.
Devils 3 – Sabres 1
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